Apple scrap vinegar is a quick and easy way to turn apple scraps into homemade apple cider vinegar (ACV). Apple cider vinegar can be used as a home remedy for everything from warts to sunburn to acid reflux, and makes a tasty salad dressing. Homemade apple cider vinegar is not recommended for canning, because the pH will vary from batch to batch. If you wanted to create a homemade vinegar that was safe for canning, you'd need a pH of 2.4. (You can test pH with a digital pH tester.)
In the backyard or barnyard, apple cider vinegar can be added to drinking water to improve flock and stock health. It also helps prevent scum buildup inside watering containers. Add one tablespoon of vinegar per gallon of water. Just make sure to use plastic or glass waterers, as the acidity of the apple scrap vinegar will corrode metal. See “The Small Scale Poultry Flock” for more on using ACV with your flock.
PrintApple Scrap Vinegar Recipe
Easy, inexpensive homemade apple Cider vinegar made from apple scraps.
Ingredients
- Apple scraps, about a quart – you may use cores, peels or even chunks of banged up apples. Just don't use anything rotten or moldy.
- 1/2 cup sugar (or honey)
- 1 quart non-chlorinated warm water
- 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar (optional)
If you want to make larger batches, just keep the same ratios.
Instructions
Mix sugar in water to dissolve. In a 2 quart mason jar or other large, nonreactive container (use glass, food grade plastic or stainless steel) add apple parts and enough sugar water to cover.
I like to fill the 2 quart mason jar about half full of apple scraps, then cover with a quart of sugar water. This gives you ample room to mix without spilling, and also allows plenty of room for bubbles formed during fermentation.
Add raw apple cider vinegar, if desired. This isn't absolutely needed, but will help jumpstart the ferment. If you have had mold issues in your ferments before, the vinegar is a good safeguard.
Stir vigorously and cover opening with a cloth and rubber band to keep out fruit flies but allow natural yeasts in. Initially the smell should start out like apples and hooch (the microbes will produce alcohol before they switch to vinegar), then the sour vinegar smell will develop.
Keep jar at room temperature and stir daily for about a week. Strain out apple chunks and compost them (or give them to the chickens). Return to fermenting vessel and ferment for 2-3 more weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain and bottle, use for cooking, cleaning, critters or health, and enjoy your homemade vinegar that only cost you pennies to make.
You may also enjoy:
- Preserving Apples – Making Applesauce, Apple leather and Dried Apple Slices
- Easy Apple Crisp
- Cranberry-Apple Pie with Maple Syrup and Cinnamon
Originally published in 2016, updated in 2018.
Marilee Hagee says
Laurie, will the second straining remove the “mother’ from the vinegar?
Laurie Neverman says
Straining would remove a solid mass of “mother”, but when the bacteria is live, a new one will generally grow (if your particular yeast species are those that generate a film type mother”. Most of the time (in my experience), vinegar doesn’t form a solid skin of a mother like kombucha, but you will have active cultures throughout the sediment that forms and the brew itself.
CMW says
just use a larger strainer wire… get the big stuff….
Ashely says
Do you just test the ph to know if it is safe to can? Would you put it in clean jars and put the lid on and be done? How exactly would you can? We have 3 bushels and use vinegar all the time so I would love to put som up.
Laurie Neverman says
It should keep indefinitely in a sealed non-reactive container, without canning. I still have some from last year in good condition. You could even use food grade plastic buckets. I’m not sure how long standard canning lids will hold out without corroding, but you could screw on a layer of wax paper between the lid and the jar to block the acid from the metal lid.
Ashely says
Thanks!
Laurie Neverman says
You’re welcome. Do make sure when you’re brewing to stir daily when the apple chunks are still in it. The exposed pieces are the most likely spots for a mold outbreak, which will ruin the batch.
Courtney Scheiderich says
So, if I’m accumulating the apple scraps over the course of a week as we eat apples, how would I store them? Should I just mix everything and add the apples as I go?
Thanks.
Laurie Neverman says
I’d probably freeze them in a small container until you get enough to make up a batch. That way they won’t start to rot before they ferment.
miki says
Hi! I just strained my vinegar and put in a container to further ferment for two to three weeks. While now fermenting, do I use cheesecloth on top again? Or a lid? Thank you!
Laurie Neverman says
I keep the cloth on top while it’s actively fermenting.
Betsy says
Two questions:
On one batch I left the apple scraps in for two weeks – what problems might that cause?
Due to not reading instruction properly, I used plastic lids instead of cloth covers. I’ve vented and stirred daily. If I switch to cloth cover after removing apple scraps will it get enough yeast? At this point is smells sweet and boozy, which seems right. What do you think?
Laurie Neverman says
The recipe is pretty forgiving. As long as you’re not seeing mold, you’re probably just fine. There’s generally some naturally occurring yeast on the apples themselves.
Jane Eichhorn says
can I make more vinegar from the mother and how do I do it?
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Laurie Neverman says
You’ll need more apple scraps or juice for another batch. If you have a mother, you can substitute it for the raw apple cider vinegar to provide a culture for your vinegar and speed up the ferment.
Linda says
I will try this for sure, however, I’m wondering if it would be ok to use regular vinegar to start the process?
★★★★★
Laurie Neverman says
It wouldn’t hurt to add plain vinegar, but the vinegar with mother has the live culture that contains the living bacteria you want that will make the most difference.
Naomi says
Hi Laurie,
Thanks for the recipe. I’m looking forward to trying this. A few questions:
1. When collecting scraps, is it ok if the seeds are left inside the cores?
2. Any idea whether the resulting ACV will work well for soap making?
thanks!
★★★★★
Laurie Neverman says
I didn’t remove the seeds from the cores. I know there’s some cyanide in the seeds, but as they are not crushed, blended or concentrated, it shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ve only made a few batches of homemade soap over the years, so I’m not an expert. I’m guessing there’s a recommended pH level for the vinegar to keep the recipe stable? If so, you could check the pH of your homemade vinegar and see if it’s in range and safe to use.
Sonya says
Would well water be okay?
Laurie Neverman says
If your well water is safe to drink, sure, it should be fine. (Many wells in our area are high in nitrates because of the blasted megafarms spreading cow manure everywhere.)
Patty says
Hi, after 12 days there is dark gunk on top about 1/4 ibch, should I remove this befire stirring? Thanks
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Laurie Neverman says
Have you been stirring daily? (Keep jar at room temperature and stir daily for about a week. )
If you’ve been stirring daily, there shouldn’t be a top layer of gunk. After the first week, you should have strained out the chunks and be fermenting only liquid for the final 2-3 weeks.
Stevie says
Thank you for this! I left my scraps in the liquid for way too long … 3 weeks! I just strained and it smells vinegary but is quite cloudy compared to your photo. Do you think it’s still ok? No mould.
★★★★★
Laurie Neverman says
It should be fine if there is no mold.
To reduce the cloudiness, there are a couple of things you can do:
Nothing – just let it sit, and eventually the lees should settle to the bottom and you can pour the clear liquid off the top.
Strain through a finer filter, such as a coffee filter.
Ginger Brinkhaus says
I made two jars, forgot to stir them. One looks and smells great! The second jar is bubbling but looks as though it had mold 🙁 Do I discard that jar? Or is thee any saving it?
Laurie Neverman says
I’d probably compost the moldy vinegar.
Naomi Evans says
HI , I stirred my apple scrap vinegar today but pulled off two gelatinous things. Did I just remove a ‘mother’ out ignorance?!
Laurie Neverman says
Probably, but they will grow back.
Naomi Evans says
Thanks!
Laurie Neverman says
You’re welcome.
Rudi Pittman says
My vinegar is on it’s 4th day and I’m seeing foam on top where the apples are floating. I am stirring daily so I’m assuming this is expected as I’ll see some bubbles when fermenting saurkraut.
Laurie Neverman says
Bubbles are good. As you said, normal CO2 production.
Rudi Pittman says
Could you make a drinkable hard apple cider if you interrupted the process earlier or used fermentation caps that keep oxygen out but allow c02 to escape?
Laurie Neverman says
You could try it, but I think it would be tough to get enough apple flavor. The scraps in water don’t pack as much flavor as juice or sweet cider.
I do make up simple hard cider by letting sweet cider spontaneously ferment. The instructions for that are here – https://commonsensehome.com/make-hard-cider/
If you try it, I’d love to hear the results.
Elizabeth says
Would it work to use cooked Apple scraps from making applesauce that have been separated through a strainer? I’m guessing now because the enzymes would be dead.
Laurie Neverman says
I wouldn’t recommend it. As you mentioned, by that point the scraps have been cooked, so the little apple yeasts that naturally occur are dead. You might be able to jump start the culture with a bit of live culture ACV, but I think the brew would be murky and more prone to mold.